1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a warning control apparatus for controlling warning to a vehicle driver.
2. Description of Related Art
There is known a system that issues a warning to a driver of a vehicle upon detecting a possibility of collision of the vehicle, to avoid the collision. For example, refer to Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2009-173222. The system described in this patent document is configured to issue a warning at a timing determined based on driver information (age, driving experience and so on, for example) of an identified driver of a vehicle and the current driving state of the vehicle (the vehicle speed and following distance, for example).
In such a system, if the timing at which a warning to avoid collision is given to a vehicle driver does not match the sensitivity or preference of the vehicle driver, the vehicle driver may feel unnatural or uncomfortable. Vehicle drivers have different habits and likings in driving a vehicle, which are irrelevant to their ages and driving experiences. Accordingly, if the timing to give a warning to a vehicle driver is determined based on the age or driving experience of the vehicle driver in a single uniform way, the vehicle driver may feel that something unnatural or uncomfortable is occurring.